Momentum is building.
Investable allocations are not.
The opportunity
The Mansion House Accord and the wider UK/EU productive-finance agenda are creating momentum to channel more long-term capital towards private markets and scale-ups.
The bottleneck
Policy ambition does not by itself create an investable allocation. Asset owners need evidence, governance, portfolio construction and implementation capability.
Designed for the people who take allocation decisions to the board
The fellowship is built for senior leaders responsible for shaping, approving or implementing a private-markets allocation.
Who is it for
- ☆CIO-track leaders
- ☆Heads / Directors of Private Markets, Investment Strategy, Manager Research or Fund Investments
- ☆Senior portfolio construction, governance and investment-risk professionals
Institutions
- ☆Pension funds
- ☆Insurers
- ☆Endowments and foundations
- ☆Sovereign investors
- ☆Large family offices
A live cohort, built around your own institution's decision.
Each session combines faculty teaching, a senior practitioner and closed, peer-only discussion. Materials and recordings are provided to support internal use.
Wednesday 20th January, 1pm CET
90 minutes each, online - faculty teaching + senior practitioner + peer discussion
60 minutes each - participants draft their own institution's papers
A private dinner with colleagues in London
Session materials and recordings for internal use
Subject matter experts from academia, government affiliated organisations, industry practitioners
Six sessions. Two clinics.
One defensible decision.
The curriculum moves from context and evidence, through to selection, construction and terms - and ends with a board-ready paper for your own institution.
Policy & regulatory context
UK and EU pension reform; consolidation; productive-finance policy; the direction of travel for private-markets allocations; board and trustee engagement.
Venture & growth in a long-horizon portfolio
The strategic case and the counter-case; return dispersion; portfolio role; allocation logic and constraints; principles for sizing and pacing.
The European market & the evidence
European venture and growth market structure; performance evidence and data limitations; differences from the US; sources and persistence of returns.
Rationale & sizing
Each participant drafts the strategic rationale paper and the allocation range, pacing and liquidity analysis for their own institution.
Manager selection & due diligence
GP assessment frameworks; track-record attribution; team and emerging-manager analysis; DDQ practice; references; operational red flags and service providers.
Portfolio construction & governance
Pacing models; benchmarking; valuation and liquidity; portfolio monitoring; board and trustee reporting; governance and decision rights.
Fund terms & routes to exposure
LPA economics; fees, carry, alignment, side letters and negotiation; direct commitments, funds of funds, co-investment and secondaries.
The IC / board paper
Each participant completes a draft IC or trustee board paper and a 90-day implementation plan.
In person
Each participant completes a draft IC or trustee board paper and a 90-day implementation plan.
Capital for Scale
The European Allocator Fellowship
Build the case for European venture and growth - and the paper your board needs to see.
Online programme • Starts 20 January 2027
Early Bird
ENDED 31 OCTThe discounted rate for early registrations. This offer expired on 31 October 2026.
- Full programme access
- Six sessions and two practical
- Templates and peer exchange
Programme Fee
NOW OPENFor senior pension fund and asset-owner professionals considering an allocation to European venture and growth.
- Six live online sessions and two practical clinics
- Practitioner insights and closed peer discussions
- Allocation rationale, pacing and governance tools
- Draft IC or board paper and 90-day plan
- Closing day and peer dinner
Decision discipline throughout.
The programme teaches the counter-case too: when venture or growth is unsuitable because of liquidity, scale, cash-flow, valuation or reporting constraints.
You leave with the papers your board needs to see.
- 01Strategic rationale and counter-case paper
- 02Proposed allocation range, pacing and liquidity analysis
- 03Recommended access route and manager-selection / ODD framework
- 04Governance and decision-rights map
- 05Draft IC or trustee-board paper and 90-day implementation plan
Faculty and Contributors
Learn from leading practitioners and experts in venture capital, institutional investment and finance.
Session 1 | Policy and Regulatory Context
Leandros leads the British Business Bank’s investment activities. Drawing on experience across pensions, banking and asset management, he brings a practical perspective on translating policy ambition into investment and mobilising institutional capital for venture and growth.
Session 1 | Policy and Regulatory Context – Guest Contribution
Hélène brings a European Commission perspective on the policy and regulatory environment shaping asset management. Her contribution will help participants understand the European context for directing long-term institutional capital towards venture, growth and innovation.
Session 3 | The European Market and the Evidence
Lisa brings decades of venture investing experience and helped establish Top Tier’s European presence. Her transatlantic perspective connects the evolution of Europe’s venture ecosystem with the opportunities for institutional investors to participate in its next generation of global businesses.
Clinic 1 | Allocation Rationale and Sizing
Kart brings extensive experience in European venture fund investing, including roles at Barclays Wealth and the European Investment Fund. Combining institutional allocator and fund-of-funds perspectives, she will help participants develop an allocation rationale and initial sizing proposal grounded in their organisation’s objectives and constraints.
Session 5 | Fund Terms and Routes to Market
Hela brings more than three decades of experience across private markets, asset management and family offices, including senior roles at BlackRock, Citigroup and AlTi Global. Her experience connecting investors with private market opportunities brings a practical perspective on fund terms, alignment of interests and choosing suitable routes to exposure.
Session 6 | Portfolio Construction and Governance
Laurent combines academic expertise with pension fund board experience and teaches Deep Tech Nation Switzerland’s venture capital programme for pension funds. He brings a rigorous, institutionally grounded perspective on assessing venture capital’s role, risks and implementation within a diversified portfolio.
Clinic 2 | IC or Trustee Board Paper and 90-Day Implementation Plan
David brings extensive private markets experience, including investment roles at Legal & General Capital, Tesco Pension Investment and Ireland’s sovereign wealth fund. He will help participants sharpen their investment case and turn their draft board paper into a practical plan for progressing an allocation decision.
Industry perspectives
Learn from leading practitioners and experts in venture capital, institutional investment and finance.
Europe has the talent, innovation and growing infrastructure, with over 360 unicorns and strong- performing venture funds. The case for change is clear: European top-quartile venture and growth funds deliver 15-25% net internal rates of return, matching US peers and outperforming traditional assets.
General Partner, AVP
Diversification plays a role; it’s about having assets that behave differently, ideally with a negative correlation to traditional listed markets
Estonian Pension Fund
The rationale for investing in VC is more the view US pension funds take: it fits a long-term investment horizon. Of course, there will be winners and losers, but if you have a longer-term investment horizon, that doesn’t matter as much. From a return perspective, VC is attractive
Dutch Pension Fund
VC contributes to employment. We’ve backed companies that have grown from fewer than 50 employees to over 10,000. That’s good for society, the economy & even government tax revenue
Asset Manager
There’s a huge need for education – not just about how VC works in general, but also about its risks, the different funding stages, and how success and failure rates look across portfolios. What’s the failure rate? These are all things that trustees need to understand before they can make an informed decision. Ultimately, if we want to see broader adoption of VC in pension schemes, the education piece is non-negotiable
UK Trustee
Frequently asked questions
Find answers to common questions about the Capital for Scale programme, including who it’s designed for, what you’ll learn, the time commitment, and how to take part.
Capital for Scale is designed for investment professionals, trustees, and decision-makers within pension funds, insurers, endowments, and other institutional asset owners who are considering – or already developing – an allocation to European venture and growth capital.
No. The programme is designed for experienced institutional investors who may be new to venture and growth investing, as well as those seeking to deepen their existing knowledge. It starts with the strategic case and market evidence before progressing to portfolio construction, access routes, governance and manager due diligence.
You will be equipped to assess whether and how venture and growth capital could fit within your organisation’s portfolio. You will also leave with a draft IC or trustee paper, an initial allocation and pacing framework, and a practical 90-day implementation plan tailored to your institution.
The programme combines six expert-led sessions, two practical implementation clinics and a closing event. Each session builds towards a concrete output, so participants progressively translate the learning into an institution-specific investment case.
The curriculum covers the UK and European policy landscape, the role of venture and growth within an institutional portfolio, market and performance evidence, fund terms and access routes, portfolio construction and governance, and manager selection and due diligence.
Capital for Scale is deliberately implementation-focused. Participants will work with practical blueprints, decision frameworks, case studies and institutional examples rather than simply attending a series of lectures. The clinics provide dedicated time to apply the material to participants’ own organisations.
The programme brings together experienced institutional allocators, venture and growth investors, governance and due-diligence specialists, legal experts and guest practitioners. Faculty contributions are selected for their practical relevance and first-hand experience of making, supporting or scrutinising allocation decisions.
The programme runs over approximately ten weeks. Participants attend six learning sessions, two implementation clinics and a closing event, with manageable preparation between sessions. The staged format is designed to fit around demanding professional responsibilities.
The participation fee is €5,000 per person. Organisations can pay by invoice and provide their usual finance or purchase-order details during registration. Card payment can also be made available where appropriate. A budget-approval letter is available to support internal training or professional-development requests.
Select Apply on the programme page and complete the short application form. Applications are reviewed to confirm that the programme is relevant to your role and organisation. Successful applicants will then receive confirmation, onboarding information and the documentation required to arrange payment.
Have a question before applying? Contact us at scala@ventureconnections.co
Join the first cohort of Capital for Scale.
Places are limited. Register your interest for the full application process.
Questions before applying? Email scala@ventureconnections.co
